bennett



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

XV. BENNETT, OF NEY YORK, N. Y.

SOCKET FOR TOOL-HANDLES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 20,693, dated June 29, 1858.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM BENNETT, of the city and county of New York,in the State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement inSockets for Securing Handles of Wood, &c., to Various Implements of Ironin Common Use; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and eXact description of my said invention, reference being hadto the drawings accompanying and making part of this specification.

The nature of this invention consists in rendering the socket selffastening, so that when the handle is driven home, it becomespermanently fixed and immovable, and not liable to come out as in theordinary method of fastening. To accomplish this desirable object, Iconstruct the socket in any desired form, whether round or square, so asto receive the handle of any required shape. This socket is made widestat the bottom, and the bottom is closed, or in other words, the socketis only open at one end, and the open end is in all cases the smallest,giving to the socket the form and principle of the dovetail. `With thissocket I combine the use of the wedge, constructed in any known form,and either united permanently with the bottom of the socket andprojecting upward to any required height, by being cast in connectionwith the socket, or otherwise connected with it in a permanent manner sothat when the end of the handle is inserted into the open end of thesocket, and driven home, the wedge performs its office by entering theend of the handle within the socket, dividing the same in two or moreparts, according to the form of the wedge, and spreading the dividedportions apart in such a manner as to completely fill up the lower andwidest part of the socket, thus rendering it impossiblel for the handleto be withdrawn from its position. Or the wedge may be made separatefrom the socket, and the point entered into the end of the handle beforeinserting it in the socket so that when the handle is entered and drivenhome the wedge shall first strike the bottom of the socket and meetingwith the resistance thus provided, shall divide the wood as before,crowding it into the lower space at the bottom of the socket and holdingthe handle permanently as before. This form of construction may includea wedge of any required shape and of any desired material whether ofmetal or wood.

This socket is applicable to a great variety of implements in co-mmonuse, such as hoes, garden rakes, hay and manure forks, coal and othershovels, scoops, &c., &c.

The manner of attaching this socket to the various implements abovespecified will be by casting them together in some instances, andriveting or welding them in other cases. The socket when designed to beattached by welding, or by rivets, would generally be composedofannealed or .malleable iron with a shank or any other requisiteappendage for connecting them with the in'iplement. y

The advantages resulting from the use of this improved socket willreadily be perceived by the intelligent mechanic. In the first instancethere is no possibility of the wedge working loose from the fact that itsecurely and permanently connected with the socket. itself. Neither canthis be the case when the loose wedge is employed as the bottom ispermanently closed and consequently the wedge can never be withdrawn inthat direction.

Figure l is a longitudinal section of a socket with the wedge connectedpermanently with the bottom, in which a, a represent the opposite sidesof the socket and Z) the wedge. Fig. 2 is also a longitudinal section ofthe same with the handle inserted showing the exact position of the woodwith regard to the wedge and the bottom and sides of the socket. Fig. 3is a sectional view of a socket into the open end of which the handle isentered with the loose wedge inserted into the end ready to be driven toits position within the socket.

I am fully aware that it has long been customary to first insert a wedgeinto t-he end of a dowel or pin before driving the same into a straighthole or a space with parallel sides, for the purpose of more effectuallysecuring said dowel or pin in its position.

I am also well aware that the wedge is a well known device for securingthe handles of various implements to such implements. It is seen inhoes, axes, hammers, &c., &c., and is invariably inserted in the end ofthe handle upon the opposite side to the entrance after the handle isdriven through the eye or space prepared for it.

I am not aware that the tapering socket involving the principle of thedovetail formed i l with a closed bottom as herein described with thewedge attached permanently by casting or otherwise has ever been knownor used in any form. Neither am I aware that the wedge has first beeninserted in the end of the handle of any implement and both driven intoa socket with a closed end, having the dovetailed form as hereindescribed. Y

I do not claim broadly the socket having the form described above whenin use ndependently of the wedge-neither do I claim the wedge wheninserted into the end of a handle and both wedge and handle driven intoa socket or space having sides parallel with each other, whether suchspace or socket be closed or open at the bottom, but I do claim- Atapering socket made widest at the bottom or closed endy in combinationwith the wedge b constructed as herein described and for the purposespecied WILLIAM BENNETT. Witnesses: n

ELI G. BENNETT, EDWIN GILBERT.

